Azaleas are the first major bloom of spring where I live in east Texas. Every year in mid-February the azalea bushes start setting buds and then blooming. Bare, wintery-looking yards suddenly have lovely mounds of pink, white, or red blooms. It’s a sure sign that spring is around the corner.
My neighbor’s backyard is lined with azalea bushes. I can see them from my living room window. For a week, the huge pink flowers have been calling me.
“Come photograph me” they seem to say. “Get out here and photograph us!” they started shouting as the blooms became more profuse. My brain responded with the usual “it’s to cold” and “it’s too windy today.” But those amazing flowers kept calling to me to get out there and photograph them.
Yesterday I grabbed the camera and tripod to head outside. It was breezy so I grabbed some handy gadgets from my friends at Wimberley.
Below are all my gadgets.
Wimberley PP-200 The Plamp II 
Wimberley PP-210 The Plamp Extension Rod. 
Wimberley PP-200 The Plamp II with the Extension Rod attached. 
Wimberley AP-7 Cold Shoe Flash Adapter. 
Wimberley PP-400 The Ground Plamp with screwdriver inserted. 
Wimberley PP-400 The Ground Plamp with screwdriver pulled out. 
Wimberley F-2 Macro Flash Bracket
F-2 Macro Flash Bracket on camera.
The Macro Flash Bracket is attached to the base plate on the camera. Both are then hooked to the MeFoto Globetrotter tripod.
Wimberley’s P-5 Universal Camera Base Plate is on the camera.
Installed next to the camera. Three adjustable sections allow me to position the flash in almost an position.
Reflector to the rescue
I needed a reflector to get some light under the bloom. PP-200 The Plamp II clamps to my tripod leg and Plamp Clip grips the edge of the reflector.
PP-400 The Ground Plamp (right) and PP-200 The Plamp II (left)
The Plamp is holding the flower in position. The Plamp II (left) is holding a background flower in position.
PP-400 The Ground Plamp stuck in the ground with the spike
PP-210 Plamp Extension Rod was needed to get the bloom into position.
Clips Don’t Squeeze Tender Vegetation
The PP-211 Plamp II Thumbscrew Clips have a groove that secures around the plant stem.
Could I have done the photography without the Wimberley gadgets? Maybe — if it wasn’t windy or if I had an assistant to hold things. But, it was great to be out there alone with my camera and gadgets.
Kathy Adams Clark 